WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Dionysus
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Chapter 264: Nice to Meet You (2)
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House Farreira's territory was peaceful year-round, except during the monster subjugation season in May.
Its recent growth had led to an expansion of its forces and stricter military discipline.
Still, compared to the western kingdoms, where people were deeply devoted to the sword, it would have been difficult to say that Farreira's knights and soldiers trained particularly hard, even as a polite exaggeration.
But that was no longer true.
Ever since the territory's young lord, Airen Farreira, had returned from his long journey.
The family's training grounds had become busier than ever before.
Whoosh!
Clang!
Clang!
"Hup! Hah!"
"Huff, huff..."
"One more lap! Whoever falls behind buys dinner!"
They had watched the young lord's skill with their own eyes, skill they had only heard about through rumors.
They had also seen, time and again, the young lord's influence, which they had only heard whispered about.
Heads of houses ranked far above House Farreira and nobles from far grander kingdoms all treated the young master with caution.
They even took care not to treat people far beneath them carelessly.
That change set the territory's knights and soldiers into motion.
'We need abilities worthy of the treatment we're receiving now.'
'And if that is impossible right away, then we should at least make an effort!'
They had to become people who would not disgrace the young master's honor.
Driven by that conviction, many of them threw themselves into voluntary training.
Of course, some gave up before long, and others trained with less intensity than when they had started.
Still, many carried a fire in their hearts and swung their swords day and night, determined to make today better than yesterday.
But.
Even the most passionate among them could not compare to the two young people swinging swords in the smaller training yard.
Swoosh!
BOOOOM!
Bang, bang, bang, BANG!
"Ngh!"
"Stay sharp! Here I come again!"
"Damn it...!"
Illia Lindsay, House Lindsay's gifted daughter and the youngest Sword Master on record.
And Brett Lloyd, the genius leading Krono Fencing Hall's Golden Generation.
Ever since arriving in House Farreira's territory, the two had trained and sparred madly, as though preparing for war.
Of course, the outcome never changed.
Unlike Brett, who had only just reached his current level, Illia was already glimpsing the world beyond it.
BOOOOM!
'Strange. And fascinating.'
Illia Lindsay thought as she unleashed a Sword Strike wrapped in a fierce gale.
Ever since she had completely stepped out of Ignet Crescentia's shadow.
In other words, ever since realizing her feelings for Airen, she knew her growth had accelerated.
But these past few days, her swordsmanship had gained momentum fast enough to surprise even her.
If her sparring partner had been her father, Joshua Lindsay, or Airen Farreira, that would have been one thing.
But the person crossing swords with her was Brett, and, sorry to say, his skill fell far short of hers.
That was why it was even stranger.
She was fighting someone weaker, someone she could handle with relative ease, and yet she could feel her swordsmanship advancing in the middle of it.
Illia considered it briefly before coming to a rough conclusion.
'Maybe Brett is satisfying to hit.'
And she wasn't wrong. This blue-haired guy was a perfectly decent opponent.
Even when it seemed she was overwhelming him completely, he occasionally launched unexpected counterattacks and displayed creativity an ordinary swordsman could never hope to show.
In short, his swordsmanship had become far freer than before.
That alone could not fully explain her current growth, but Illia decided not to think any further about it.
'Since I have the chance, I'll beat him up some more.'
He had always been a little annoying, but somehow he had become even more irritating these past few days.
She smiled faintly, then hardened her expression again and planted her feet.
Thud!
Charge, charge, and another charge!
Facing the endless typhoon bearing down on him, Brett cursed inwardly.
'Ease up, you bastard!'
BOOOOM!
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
"Aaargh...!"
The blunt impact sent him flying back. Not only his hands, but his entire body ached.
But he barely had time to catch his breath.
Seeing the blade already descending toward the crown of his head, Brett gritted his teeth.
Truthfully, he had brought some of this on himself.
Like Illia, his own growth had been gaining momentum lately, and he had wanted to push himself to his limits by sparring with someone far stronger.
He wanted to climb to an even higher level through it.
But this was too much.
Illia seemed to be taking out all the stress she had built up while waiting for Airen on him, and she was brutal.
Vicious. It might sound like an exaggeration, but she was even scarier than the stone demon they had met in the labyrinth.
He had endured this for ten days, and knowing he would likely have to endure much more made him want to throw away training and everything else and run.
BOOOOM!
"Guh!"
'No. Not like this... I can't keep going like this!'
As he blocked a strike aimed at his side, Brett let out a groan.
He could not take much more. He needed to escape this monster.
No, if he could not escape, he at least needed to buy himself some time to rest. Only then could he survive.
"Cough!"
Lucky, if you could call it that. At the sight of him spitting blood, Illia lowered her sword.
Watching his friend approach with a face full of worry, Brett felt relief wash over him.
Yeah, this should be enough for today.
Good thing he had bitten his tongue. It hurt a little, but at least he could rest now.
Just as he thought that, Illia pulled a small bottle from her pocket and spoke.
"Sorry. Here... this is a top-grade potion made by the Runtel royal family."
"..."
"It does not look like a serious injury, so if you take this and rest for about thirty minutes, you should be back on your feet..."
"Illia."
"Hm?"
"The way you've been acting lately isn't good."
"What is that supposed to..."
Illia had been about to snap something back, but swallowed the words instead.
Her friend's expression was dead serious. This did not seem like a joke.
She immediately gave him her full attention.
She had not been like this, not even throughout her time in Proof Land.
She had always been more conscious of others' opinions than anyone, yet had never opened herself to advice from those close to her.
Now was different, of course. All thanks to Airen.
She had opened her heart and her ears.
Seeing Illia ready to listen to a close friend's advice, Brett spoke.
"...Let's stop here. How about a drink?"
"A drink? What is that supposed to..."
Before the words "what bullshit is that" could leave her mouth, Brett spoke again.
A little urgently, in a voice edged with desperation.
"No, don't misunderstand. I am absolutely not saying this because I want a drink myself. It is not because the sparring has been rough on me either, and it is not because I got angry thinking you were treating me like a stress-relief punching dummy. If you had such thoughts, apologize right now. I can stomach you disrespecting your friend Brett Lloyd, but looking down on the young lord of the great House Lloyd stains my father's name and my house's honor, and that I absolutely cannot tolerate. No, it is fine. No need to say anything. I have already heard the cry in your heart. You are sorry for misunderstanding, and grateful that I looked out for you. I have received that loud and clear, so you do not need to make that face. That was a long preamble. Anyway, back to the point, the advice I wanted to give you was..."
Brett's words poured out in a flood.
They sounded organized and logical on the surface, but they contained plenty of nonsense, so Illia could not easily grasp what he actually meant.
Brett calmly rattled off another round of nonsense, and only then did she nod.
In short, he meant that she had looked wound up lately, as though something was chasing her and she had no room to breathe.
"...I guess that is not wrong."
"Right. I am always right, you know."
"Hmm..."
"Do not overthink it. Anyway, alcohol is poison in excess, but medicine in moderation. That is exactly the situation here. Having a light drink to escape that taut tension and the restlessness driving you nonstop... that is a wise and relaxed thing to do."
"That kind of..."
"And I hear Lord Farreira enjoys drinking quite a bit too. What do you say? While we are at it, it would not be bad to sample the drinks the lord favors and learn about their character and the proper way to enjoy them..."
"Should we, then?"
"..."
"What?"
"No, never mind. Then let's stop here."
Should have brought up Lord Farreira from the start.
Brett grumbled a little to himself, but either way, he was in a good mood.
His plan for a break had worked exactly as he hoped.
Of course, there was still some risk involved.
He always welcomed a drink, but a drinking session could swing between heaven and hell depending on who he was drinking with.
Judith, for the record, leaned heavily toward the hell end of that spectrum.
She was his girlfriend, but her behavior when drunk was certainly not ordinary.
'Illia should be fine... she'd never acted up while drunk before.'
She did not drink as often as he or Kubharu did, but she had joined a handful of drinking sessions during their travels.
And she had never caused any trouble.
Having thought that far, Brett pulled out a few bottles of Whiskey with a happy look on his face and spent an enjoyable stretch of time savoring the aroma, flavor, and leisure of it all.
Lulu joined partway through, and the three chatted together. Brett even smiled proudly as he watched Illia knock back drink after drink.
That was the problem.
With his own mind at ease, he did not immediately notice that his friend had gone past her limit.
Nor did he expect the drunken behavior she had never shown before to emerge now.
And he certainly did not expect it to emerge in front of Airen Farreira, Harun Farreira, and Kiril Farreira.
Catching up to Illia a moment too late, Brett and Lulu cried out in dismay.
"Ah, are we too late...?"
"Too late, Brett."
'Too late for what?'
Hearing that, Airen looked at the two with a face full of confusion.
But he did not have time to stay confused.
Illia reached out with both hands and grabbed his face. Then she turned his face toward her so their eyes met.
"Look here. Look at me."
"..."
"Repeat after me. I will only look at Illia."
"..."
"Not going to repeat it?"
"I... I will only look at Illia..."
"What? I told you to only look at me, so why do your eyes keep wandering all over?"
Watching his eyes dart around, Illia pouted.
She did not like it.
She had spent every single moment of the past ten days thinking of nothing but him.
So why did Airen's gaze keep drifting somewhere else?
'Just who is over there?'
She did not want to know.
But at the same time, she did. And that feeling won out.
Scrunching her face into a cute little frown, she turned her head toward where Airen was looking.
There stood Baron Harun Farreira, wearing a solemn expression.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Silence.
Stillness.
Quiet.
Under the weight of the heavy silence, Illia pulled her hands away from Airen's face and stepped back two paces.
Her field of view widened, and one more person came into sight.
Someone who had shown her a warm smile throughout her stay in the territory.
Airen's mother, Amelia Farreira.
After seeing her as well, Illia Lindsay remained silent for a few seconds.
Whoosh!
Moving faster than ever before, she fled from the spot.
"..."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere had not changed at all.
Every member of House Farreira, Baron Harun Farreira included, kept their mouths shut, and those who had come out to greet the lord could only glance around nervously, unsure what to do.
That was when Brett, who had remained quiet until now, looked at Airen and spoke.
"This is entirely your fault."
"..."
"Do you admit your guilt, Airen Farreira?"
Faced with his friend's dead-serious tone, Airen could not manage a single word in response.
Baron and Baroness Farreira looked at their son with strange expressions.
Clap!
"...I am now calling an emergency meeting."
Kiril Farreira clapped, then turned to everyone and spoke.
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